Hello all together. There are two guys missing – Kimmo and Riku – where are they?

Sakke: They are no longer part of the band. Kimmo joined the Finnish army, so he left the band, because of that. And Rixa…well, after a few gigs we noticed that he was a bit unmotivated for the band and so we talked about it and we decided together that it`s maybe better for the band that he just keeps going by his own. It`s hard to explain. A quite long story. But something like that. We just decided together that this way is better.

Iiro: Of course he`s still our friend. It`s only in the band that it didn´t anymore. We are still good friends.

When and where did find For Her Icon together? When did you decide to found this band?

Iiro: It was in autumn 2006, when Setä, Mikko and me decided to start playing together. Then Sakke and Rixa joined the band. At the same time we first thought that only two guitarist would be great, but then we decided “Let`s try three!” It worked pretty well.

Sakke: Then Kimmo came along, when we didn`t have a bass-player. Rixa has known him for many years from former bands and been a friend of him for a long time. He just called Kimmo and he was just interested to come and try and that´s how we all came together. That`s maybe the whole story.

You first wanted to do some kind of Indie music and Punk. But how would you describe your music-style nowadays?

Iiro: It`s like Metal-Indie or Skate-Punk or whatever you want to call it. (laughing) I`m not sure. It`s pretty Hardcore, but still we have some Emo-style on it and of course we have listened a long time to bands like Placebo and Lapko from Finland. And the first idea was to play music like they do, but then it just felt right to start playing the music we do now.

Sakke: All the riffs we did, they sounded like kind of Emo music. And we just love that…

Iiro: I still think it`s Emo we do, but in a different way.

Okay, your own style?

Iiro: Yes, in our own style, very own.

Who of you creates the music and the songs?

Iiro: We all do our own part on the songs. Of course the guitarist makes the first idea and then we do the lyrics and drums on their own. It just comes from my heart of course.
Where do you get your inspiration from?

Sakke: Somebody comes and plays some riffs and we just start to make it to be a whole song together. And then it´s good, it´s good, it`s shit, it`s shit.

Iiro, you came up with the band`s name. Is that right?

Iiro: Yes, I did. It was an accident actually. I was walking home. It was windy and rainy day and then I just found the name For Her Icon. Damned, that`s a great name! Then I introduced the name to the other guys and everyone was okay with that.

Sakke: Well, we had the logo first…with the girl who is praying. The name just fit to the logo. I don´t know how the logo came up. I wasn´t in the band in that time. But the name is good, so…

How many songs are ready so far?

Iiro: 8 or 10 or 20. (Lea is laughing) We have a few. (laughing) Probably 10 songs are ready, but we have a few…

And there is this one song called “760 degrees”. There`s a girl singing as well. Who is it?

Iiro: Kadi Vija from Estonia. It was an accident also. (laughing, Lea as well) Our producer Joona Kukkola decided that “Let`s try, if there`s a woman on the song…”

Sakke: Mikko had a few difficulties with the clean parts, the chorus parts of the song. We just tried again and again and again and then Joona wanted to try the female vocals on the song. It just worked and we decided to keep it that way.

And did you play in any other band before you founded For Her Icon?

Iiro: There were lots of projects, but never anything bigger. Many bands. I`ve played for my whole life in 4 or 5 bands before For Her Icon. This is still the one I want to play the rest of my life with.

And who of you is the head or big organiser in the band?

Sakke: I would say maybe Iiro. I don´t know why, (laughing) but he has something…

Iiro: I would say Mikko. He is, I mean, not like the head part of the band, but he`s a legend. Everybody in Pori knows Mikko and of course he looks like a lovely boy…

Sakke: He`s the cutie…

Mikko: Cutie boy! (all laughing)

Your first live-show was on the 24th of February in this year and you supported Maj Karma. How did this great possibility become true?

Iiro: The other bands that were playing there were our friends. And we know the guy who organised the event. We just had a call: If you want to come…of course we were interested. It was a great chance.

On Friday the 13th there was a last gig where Kimmo and Riku took place in. How was the gig?

Sakke: (grinning) It was the best. It was really awesome. We never played that kind of gig. There were lots of people. Great groove or whatever.

Iiro: Lots of friends were there.

Sakke: It was amazing. It was fucking awesome.

Are you still nervous before you enter the stage?

Iiro: Of course! Very nervous. (Lea is laughing) We drink like pigs.

Sakke: That´s the only medicine. That helps a bit.

So you get drunk!?

Sakke: Not like drunk. Just a bit. Just a few beers, maybe more. But not that drunk that we can`t play of course.

Iiro: Friday the 13th we did that and of course we could play, but I was actually very drunk. I didn’t remember lots of that gig. (laughing) But it was very good. (Lea is laughing)

And which gig did you visit by yourself at last?

Sakke: Black Label Society from the United States. I think it was the last gig I`ve seen.

Iiro: The Killswitch Engage`s gig at Nosturi. Me and Mikko and some friends. It was awesome. One of the best gigs I´ve ever seen.

So you came over to Helsinki for this gig?

Iiro: Yes! (grinning)

There are lots of young Finnish bands at the moment coming over to Germany like Bloodpit, Lovex and Negative. What do you think about that? Why are they coming to Germany?

Iiro: It´s the style. I mean, come on…

Sakke: The Glam-style. That hits!

Iiro: They are the most beautiful rockers ever and of course that sells.

So you are coming, too?

Iiro: I don`t know about that style part, but we have lots of interests to come over, of course. Hopefully they will love me, too, wuuuuuah! But it´s great that they go there and I think that USA would be the next destination for bands like Negative.

Sakke: If you are a big name in Germany, it opens the whole world for you, I think. That`s my opinion.

Where and how often do your rehearsals take place?

Iiro: We have them in our hometown and we do them like 4 or 5 times in a week.

Sakke: That often. As more as we can.

Do you have any other interests and hobbies beside the music?

Iiro: It`s only music. For all of us it`s the music. It takes all our time. If I´m not playing drums or something else, I´m listening to music or watching the music or creating the music.

And what about school? I mean, you`re quite young!

Iiro: I haven`t been to school for a while, because of the band. We were in the studio and had a lot of stuff to do.

Sakke: The only one who`s in school still is Setä. And Mikko…just don’t know how to say this…

Okay. Who is the craziest of you guys?

Sakke: Mikko! (Lea is laughing)

Why?

Iiro: He wants to be gay sometimes. And he wants to do some crazy stuff. When we came to Helsinki, he told that “I want to take over the world! I have to do something now!”

Sakke: He just wants to do all the crazy things. In Pori he`s quite normal. (laughing) But when he goes to other cities, he just goes crazy. I don`t know why. He`s so young. Our little baby.

Are you the youngest, Mikko?

Mikko: Yeah.

Ah okay. How does a perfect Rocker look like for you?

Iiro: Like me, of course. (laughing) Ei no! I think everybody who rocks is a perfect rocker.

Sakke: You just have to look like yourself.

Iiro: No no no! That´s not the point. I think it more in the psychological way. When you rock on your mind, you rock on your world.

What do your friends and families think about your way of going, about your music?

Iiro: Of course they`re supporting us a lot. Well, sometimes they say like “You have to go to school!” “But Mom, I have rehearsals today!” (laughing) “I can`t go.” But for me they`ve been very supportive.

Sakke: No big problems have come over yet, I think.

And how do your weekends normally look like?

Sakke: Well, if we can go to the rehearsals, we do that. And if we don´t, we`re just at my place and hanging around.

Iiro: We have no other friends than the bandmates.

No?

Iiro: No other life. We only have each others. Just hang around.

Sakke: And having fun.

Iiro: Yeah, that`s the point on the weekends.

Okay, what`s the last thing you bought before you came to Helsinki?

Iiro: Yeah, I think, it was these pants for me, yeah. Or the cigarette or something else, I don´t remember.

If you were a woman for one day, what would you do? (grinning)

Iiro: What kind of a question is that? (laughing)

A surprising one…

Iiro: I would buy some skirts or Bras and then I would hit a man. It would be me I would hit.

So you would hit yourself?

Iiro: That could be pretty exciting actually. (all laughing)

Do you know any German sentences or words or phrases?

Sakke: “Mehr Bier”, I don´t know…can we say bad words?

Yes, of course.

Sakke: How was it? “Blas mir einen!“ (Lea is laughing)

Mikko: “Blas mir einen! Scheißeee!“

Iiro: „Scheiße, yeah! Und Jägermeister! Wunderbaum!” I just remember.

Where would you love to have a gig some day?

Sakke: In Finland it would be the Tavastia Club. That would be the best place. I don´t know about the other countries. There are so many…

Iiro: Wacken would be great.

Wacken Open Air? Yeah, okay. (laughing) Is there any band you would love to tour with some day?

Iiro: Of course with Killswitch Engage. But there are lots of bands. Too many.

If you would do a video for a first single maybe…do you have any ideas how it would look like?

Sakke: We`ve been talking about it already. But we`re not going to do that.

Iiro: We just leave it to the professionals.

Sakke: We have a few ideas. But I think some other ones will do the whole thing for us.

Soon it´s the first of May. Is it also a celebration day here in Finland? What will you do then?

Sakke: It`s called Vappu in here…And usually it´s just having fun with friends.

Okay and what are your plans for this evening here in Helsinki?

Iiro: I think I´m gonna be in Tampere Rockcity.

Today? Well, you can go to Tampere, if you wanna do that.

Iiro: Oh I thought we were still talking about the first of May. No, no plans for tonight. Maybe we can go to the All Fall Dead´s rehearsal basement and have a little party over there. (grinning) We have a few friends here in Helsinki. We`ll see them. Hang around.

Sakke: Good bands, having fun with their members. For example we know The Bleedout and All Fall Dead, as Iiro already mentioned.